JPH06102462B2 - Box processing device with robot - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a box processing apparatus equipped with a robot, and more particularly to a box processing apparatus that can be used as a depalletizer and an uncaster or a caser and a palletizer. .

"Prior Art" Conventionally, as a box processing device equipped with a robot, a palletizer is known in which a box containing a large number of articles inside is sequentially stacked and placed on a pallet by a robot provided at a predetermined position. (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-27229, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-1
45930 publication). In the palletizer described in the latter publication, the robot is provided with two box gripping heads so that one of the box gripping heads can be selectively used according to the type of the box.

Also, conventionally, a plurality of robots are arranged at required positions along the tube transport line, and once each robot takes out an empty tube from the inside of the box, a robot installed at another position fills the tube with filling material. It has been known that a tube that is filled with a liquid and that is filled in a box is housed in a box by a robot provided at another position (JP-A-1-99912).

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, conventionally, a caser for accommodating articles such as tubes in a box and a palletizer for stacking and mounting the boxes accommodating articles by the caser on a pallet are separately configured. And, even when configuring each installation with a robot,
They used separate robots.

This is also the same for the depalletizer that lowers the boxes stacked on the pallet from the pallet, and the caser that takes out the articles such as the tubes accommodated in the box from the box. Since this robot was used, it required a large space and was expensive.

"Means for Solving the Problem" In view of such circumstances, the present invention firstly provides a box processing device that can be used as a depalletizer and an answerer by one robot. Is a box gripping head provided on the robot for gripping boxes stacked on a pallet and lowering them from the pallet; and a box gripping head provided on the robot for selective use of the box gripping head. An article gripping head for gripping the article and taking it out from the box, and an article conveying means for receiving the article taken out from the box by the article grasping head and carrying it out to the outside.

Further, the present invention secondly provides a box processing device that can be used as a caser and a palletizer by one robot, and the box processing device includes an article transporting means for delivering an article to a predetermined position, A box carrying means for loading a box into a predetermined position, and an article gripping head provided in the robot for gripping an article carried into the predetermined position by the article carrying means and accommodating the article in the box, and provided in the robot. And a box gripping head which is selectively used as the article gripping head and grips the boxes and stacks and mounts the boxes on a pallet.

[Operation] According to the former configuration, the boxes stacked on the pallet can be grasped by the robot's box grasping head and lowered from the pallet, and the articles in the box are the articles provided on the robot. The gripping head can deliver the article from the box to the article conveying means.

On the other hand, according to the latter configuration, the article conveyed by the article conveying means can be grasped by the article grasping head of the robot and housed in the box, and the box can be grasped by the box grasping head of the robot. Then, they can be stacked and placed on a pallet.

Therefore, in any of the configurations, one robot can perform the loading and unloading work of the boxes and the loading and unloading work of articles, so that the installation space of the entire device can be made smaller than the conventional one, and the cost is low. Can be manufactured.

"Example" Hereinafter, an example in which the present invention is applied to a box processing apparatus having a function as a depalletizer for unloading a box from a pallet and a function as an unboxer for taking out an article such as a container from the inside of the box will be described. To do.

The box processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a robot 2 whose operation is controlled by a control device (not shown). The two gripping heads 2B and 2C provided at the tip of the arm 2A of the robot 2 are integrally formed. , The pallet supply position A, the box opening position B, the article unloading position C from the inside of the box, and the box discharging position D for discharging an empty box shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the box 3 in this embodiment
Inserts an article 5 such as a container up and down 2 through an intermediate partition plate 4.
The layers are housed in a staggered manner, and the upper opening of the box 3 is closed by previously folding the flaps 6 on the four sides of the box 3.

The box 3 has a pallet 7 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
A large number of pallets 7 are stacked on top of each other, and the two pallets 7 are supplied to the above-described pallet supply position A by a supply mechanism such as a conveyor or a forklift (not shown) in a state where the two pallets are adjacent to each other.

When the pallet 7 is supplied to the pallet supply position A,
The robot 2 sucks and holds one box 3 on the pallet 7 by the one box holding head 2B provided at the tip of the arm 2A, and the box opening device is provided at the box opening position B.
Supply to 11 box feeding means 12.

The box opening device 11 is provided with a pair of cutters 13 and 14 on both sides of the box 3 conveyed by the box feeding means 12, and while the box 3 is conveyed by the box feeding means 12, the box opening means 11 is operated by both cutters 13 and 14. It is possible to continuously cut the upper portions of both sides of the sheet 3 in the transport direction (see FIG. 4).

Further, the box opening device 11 is provided with a second box feeding means 15 which conveys the box 3 in front of the box feeding means 12 in a direction orthogonal thereto.
While the box 3 is conveyed by the box feeding means 15, one of the pair of cutters 14 and
With the cutter 16 provided at a position opposite to this, it is possible to cut the other upper parts on both sides of the box 3 in succession to the cutting part by the pair of cutters 13. Since this type of box opening device 11 is already known,
The details will be omitted. It is needless to say that a conventionally known flap opener can be used as the other box opening device 11.

The box 3 whose upper four side surfaces are continuously cut by the box opening device 11 is carried into the article unloading position C by the box feeding means 15. When the box 3 is carried into the article unloading position C, the box gripping head 2B of the robot 2 moves the box 3
Suction and hold the cut upper part of the
It is put into the shredder 17 provided in the and cut into fine pieces.

When the upper surface of the box 3 is opened in this manner, the box gripping head of the robot 2 will be described in detail later with respect to a specific configuration.
2B is rotationally exchanged with the article gripping head 2C, and this article gripping head 2C sucks and grips all the articles 5 on the upper layer side and takes them out from the box 3. Then, the article 5 taken out of the box 3 by the article gripping head 2C is delivered to the article carrying conveyor 18 provided at a position adjacent to the taking-out position C, and carried to the next step.

When the article gripping head 2C transfers the article 5 on the upper layer side to the article conveying conveyor 18, the article gripping head 2C is rotated and exchanged with the original box gripping head 2B, and the partition plate in the box 3 is rotated by the box gripping head 2B. 4 is taken out and put into the shredder 17. After that, when the box gripping head 2B is replaced with the article gripping head 2C again, the article gripping head 2C sucks and holds the lower-layer side article 5 accommodated in the box 3 and transfers it to the article conveying conveyor 18. .

In this way, when all the articles 5 are taken out from the box 3 and the box 3 is emptied, the box 3 is again sucked and held by the box gripping head 2B replaced with the article gripping head 2C and discharged to the shredder 17. It is cut and discharged.

One cycle is completed by the above work, and the same cycle is repeated thereafter, all the boxes 3 are unloaded from the pallet 7, and the articles 5 in all the boxes 3 are delivered to the article conveyor 18. .

Next, the specific configuration of the box gripping head 2B and the article gripping head 2C will be described. The box gripping head 2B and the article gripping head 2C are a T-shaped frame as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The connecting rod portion 23B is attached to both ends of the supporting rod portion 23A that constitutes 23, and extends from the central portion of the supporting rod portion 23A in a direction orthogonal to the connecting rod portion 23A.
Is connected to the tip of arm 2A.

The T-shaped frame 23 is adapted to be rotated about the axis of the connecting rod portion 23B by the arm 2A, and therefore the box gripping head 2B and the article gripping head 2C.
Is located at a position 180 degrees apart in the rotation direction, and the T-shaped frame 23 is rotated 180 degrees, so that the box gripping head 2B
And the article gripping head 2C can be selectively used.

As shown in FIGS. 6, 7, and 9, the box gripping head 2B is mounted on a disc-shaped mounting plate 24 fixed to one end of the support rod portion 23A, and at a predetermined position on the mounting plate 24. And a plurality of suction cups 25, and as shown in FIG.
25 is connected to a negative pressure supply source 27 (FIG. 3) through a flexible negative pressure introducing pipe 26 and a solenoid valve (not shown).

Further, a detection rod 29 for detecting the presence or absence of the box 3 is slidably penetrated to a required position of the mounting plate 24, and a spring 30 is elastically provided between a tip portion 29a of the detection rod 29 and the mounting plate 24. Mounted, and is usually a stopper 29b provided at one end of the detection rod 29.
Is brought into contact with the mounting plate 24. In this state, the tip end portion 29a of the detection rod 29 also protrudes forward from the suction cups 25 and can come into contact with the box 3 first.

Then, the stopper plate of the detection rod 29 is attached to the mounting plate 24.
A sensor 31 is attached in close proximity to 29b, and the sensor 31 causes the stopper 29b to be detected when the tip 29a contacts the box 3 and the detection rod 29 is pushed back against the spring 30. Thereby, the presence or absence of the box 3 can be detected.

On the other hand, the article gripping head 2C has a supporting rod portion that constitutes a T-shaped frame 23, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8.
A rectangular box-shaped casing 34 fixed to the other end of 23A and a rectangular elastic body 35 covering the surface of the casing 34 are provided, and a negative pressure chamber 36 into which a negative pressure is introduced into the casing 34.
(FIG. 7) is formed.

Then, the negative pressure chamber 36 is connected to the casing 34 by a pipe.
37, and a flexible negative pressure introducing pipe 38 connected thereto,
Further, it is connected to the negative pressure source 27 via a solenoid valve (not shown). Further, the elastic body 35 and the casing
The same number of suction holes 39 as the number of the articles 5 housed in the box 3 are formed in the box 34, and the suction holes 39 are communicated with the negative pressure chamber 36. The article 5 can be held by suction.

Further, the positioning members 40 are provided at almost four corners of the casing 34.
Are provided, and the positioning members 40 are press-fitted between the inner wall of the box 3 and the article 5 at a required position, so that the articles 5 in the box 3 are aligned and the suction holes 39 of the elastic body 35 are arranged in the box 3. It is designed to be accurately polymerized with the article 5 housed in.

Each positioning member 40 is formed in a shape that can be easily press-fitted between the inner wall of the box 3 and the article 5, and the rod 41 connected to each positioning member 40 is placed at a position avoiding the negative pressure chamber 36. The casing 34 is slidably pierced. Then, a spring 42 mounted elastically between the casing 34 and each positioning member 40.
Each positioning member 40 is urged in a direction away from the casing 34 by a stopper 41a which is usually provided on the rod 41.
Is held at a position where it comes into contact with the casing 34.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the casing 34 is provided with a sensor 43 at a position close to each stopper portion 41a, and the stopper portion 41a is moved by each sensor 43 so that the positioning member 40 of the box 3 moves. It was detected that the article 5 was not press-fitted between the inner wall and the article 5, that is, the articles 5 in the box 3 could not be aligned and there was a risk that all the articles 5 could not be adsorbed by the adsorption holes 39. I am able to do it.

As described above, in this embodiment, one robot 2
The arm 2A is provided with a gripping head 2B for sucking and gripping the box 3 and an article gripping head 2C for sucking and gripping the article 5, and one of them can be selectively used by rotating them 180 degrees as required. Therefore, one robot 2 can perform the unloading work of the box 3 from the pallet 7 and the unloading work of the articles 5 from the inside of the pallet 7, and the two works provided at different positions. The installation space of the entire device can be reduced and the entire device can be manufactured at a low cost, as compared with the conventional method performed by the device.

It is needless to say that the gripping head 2B and the article gripping head 2C do not necessarily have to be by suction.

In addition, the above embodiment is one in which the present invention is applied to a depalletizer that unloads a box from a pallet and a box processing device that can be used as an unboxer that takes out articles such as a container from the inside of the box. As an example, the present invention can be applied to a caser that stores articles in a box and a box processing device that can be used as a palletizer that stacks the box on a pallet.

In this case, the shredder 17 is omitted and a box carrying means for carrying the box into the take-out position C is provided, and a box closing device for closing the box containing the article is provided instead of the box opening device 11. In addition, the reverse operation to the above operation may be performed. Such configurations and operations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art
Illustration is omitted.

Further, depending on the type of article and box, for example beer bottles and their plastic cases, the box opening device 11
The box closing device can be omitted. In this case,
Regarding the illustrated embodiment, it is not always necessary to unload the box 3 from the pallet 7 and then take out the article 5 from the box 3, and after unloading the article 5 from the box 3, unload the box 3 from the pallet 7. You can This is the same in the case of the other embodiments described above, and either the step of accommodating the articles in the box or the step of stacking and placing the boxes on the pallet may be performed first.

[Advantages of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the depalletizer and the uncaster, or the caser and the palletizer can be shared by one robot, so that the installation space of the entire apparatus can be reduced as compared with the conventional one. It is possible to obtain the effect that it can be manufactured at low cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a side view of the drawing, FIG. 3 is a side view different from FIG. 2 of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a IV-of FIG.
A sectional view taken along the line IV, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line VV of FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is an enlarged view showing a main part of FIG. 3, and FIG. 7 is a left side view of FIG. 8 is a view taken along the arrow VIII in FIG. 7, and FIG. 9 is a view taken along the line IX in FIG. 1 ... box processing device, 2 ... robot 2A ... arm, 2B ... box gripping head 2C ... article gripping head, 3 ... box 5 ... article, 7 ... pallet 18 ... article conveyor (article (Transportation means)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A box gripping head provided on a robot for gripping boxes stacked on a pallet and lowering the boxes from the pallet; and a box gripping head provided on the robot for selectively using the box gripping head. An article gripping head for gripping an article therein and taking it out from the box, and an article conveying means for receiving the article taken out from the box by the article grasping head and carrying it out to the outside. Box processing device equipped with a robot. 2. An article transporting means for loading an article to a predetermined position, a box transporting means for loading a box to a predetermined position, and a robot provided on the robot for gripping the article loaded at the predetermined position by the article transporting means. An article gripping head for accommodating this in the box, and a box gripping head provided on the robot and selectively used as the article gripping head for gripping the box and stacking and mounting the box on a pallet. Box processing device equipped with a robot characterized by.